To Know or Not to Know

[cutiebunny]

Every so often, I stumble upon posts on RS and Beta regarding auctions/sales where someone missed out on a particular sketch or a cel, asking who now owns it, and occasionally, offering to pay more for it. What do you do when you see these posts if you are the new owner of this item? Do you respond, either publically or privately, to them? Or do you choose to ignore the inquiry, and if so, why? If you ever missed out on something (probably all of us at one time or another), do you want to know who now owns it? Have you ever publically asked, and if so, was it well received or not?

------------------------------------------


I don't think I've ever posted about a missed sketch/cel, though I have sent the "If you ever want to sell.." type messages about items once they've been added to RS. I've missed plenty of cels I wanted during 2005-2007 when there were plenty of Sailor Moon cels being sold on YJ weekly either due to funds or being outbid. Those that went to a deputy service bidder are the ones I can usually locate as I would generally lose out on the cel to the same person. I've also missed out on some nice Inuyasha cels that I would love to see even pop up for display in a gallery somewhere, but most of them have never resurfaced.

I think what's held me back, in terms of not asking about missed items and not answering inquiries where I own the item in question, is the assumption that someone will try to get revenge. I have this odd belief that some unknown lurker will win something else I want and then offer to trade, or they'll just go after everything I am remotely interested in just to prevent me from adding anything else. Maybe I should just suck it up. I know that I'd like to know where something went if I missed out on something I really wanted, even if it would never be resold.

[kathpatty]

WOW,
revenge on buyers for being lucky enough to win items....?
Never entered my mind. I ask just because I loved the item and would like the opportunity to see the items in people's galleries.
It gives me a nice feeling when a fellow beta wins it.

Haven't had anybody be rude. Most are very nice publicly or private...I guess I am curious, but very harmless

[graymouser]

In the past I have let people know if I had won an item; including publicly answering posts right here on AB. I have never been interested in selling though I do keep a list of inquiries in case I ever change my mind later.

There is always the risk of resentment or revenge, but SM seems to have had the biggest reputation for that, and luckily I do not collect from that show (except for a few cels of Rhett Butler). I am not aware of anyone trying to get revenge for being outbid on any animation artwork, but I have to admit that I don't pay a lot of attention either.

The only nastiness I have encountered was over an art book that was sold on ebay. Funny thing is, the item is neither rare nor expensive (less than $25) so it should not have been a big deal that the person didn't win it. There were plenty more out there for sale for nearly the same price. I never turned them in to ebay though maybe I should have. They were using their system to send me some pretty ugly messages.

[star-phoenix]

If I was the owner of the piece, I would respond if interested in selling it and probably not respond if I am not as I do not want to give false hope to that person that I may sell it. They would eventually know I own it as it goes up on display in my gallery.

On the other hand, as a buyer looking for a piece, I have done mainly private inquiries to the individual owners to see if they are interested in selling. I have done more publicized inquiries for certain art pieces like my Disney Santa cel as I did not know exactly who owned it at the time. However, the issue with this is they tend to ask a marked up price knowing that you are publicly looking for that piece. Doing public inquiries can sometimes come off as being "desperately looking". When I did this before with other art in the past, I had messages from owners selling on marked up price. So, there is good and bad in private and public inquiries.

[teggacat]

while I don't know if I would ever publicly ask about a missed/not won cel, simply because I'm not very outgoing-more of a lurker type, I wouldnt be offended if someone asked about a cel I won/bought, I think I'd reply privately. I don't think the cel market is as cut-throat as it was in the past, when I have heard some real horror stories, tho never been involved in any to that extent, I think the cel market, buying and selling and searching, has, sadly, gotten so slow and...stale and lost so much interest that the cut-throat days are basically over. If someone would inquire to me I think I'd be rather thrilled to come across another cel crazy person!
just my 2 yen.............

[ReiTheJelly]

I've asked about cels before and it really disappoints me when no one replies. Depending on who the new owner is, I may simply request that if they ever feel inclined to sell to keep me in mind, or I may recognize the collector as someone who never sells from their collection and simply be happy to know where it is.

I think asking/replying about cel whereabouts was more critical back about 5-10 years ago, when the competition was supremely fierce for certain shows. Nowadays, I doubt it matters much.

My biggest regret is never finding out which Rinkya user bought the vertical pan cel of The Jaberwoki from Miyuki-chan in Wonderland. It just disappeared into the ether. And for the price the winning bidder paid, I'm sure they have other phenomenal pieces in their collection. If only it were publicly online, where I could go drool over it...

[Rekka Alexiel]

Interesting topic! There have been plenty of cels that I missed out on that I would have been very happy to add to my gallery, but for the most part, once I've lost them, they seem to disappear. Very rarely I'll find an item I tried for but lost appear somewhere on our usual sites like Rubberslug or even here. Personally, I would *love* to know where the cels go...just so I can see them again and possibly have a second chance at them somewhere down the road. I don't mind receiving similar "if you ever want to let n go..." type of messages, so I'm sort of one who will send such messages as well... I don't always hear back from the person at all, however.

[teppy]

I wanted to resurrect this old thread because it is a common phenomenon and I'm bummed about missing out on a great Macross cel on ebay very recently due solely to my hesitation. That's what makes it worse, the cel could have been mine! LOL. Have we all had that feeling?

I'd love to know who the owner is but probably never will know. Yes, as the party who did not obtain the cel, I would want to know who had it to politely inquire about its status, and make a bold offer, even though if the chance to obtain it is slim, as the person who bought the cel obviously wanted it. It's a shame when pieces go into the vortex of the blackhole and they can't be located.

For myself, I am not offended if people inquire about my cels, and, fortunately, I haven't experienced much animosity among cel collectors.

[lunacels]

I'm glad this thread was resurrected! I've been on both ends of the inquiries, and am in favor of sharing. Of course, I haven't been on the receiving end of abuse by the crazies as others have described, so I suppose that is why I'm more open. I love that there are other collectors with similar interests, even if they're my competition once in a while! The only thing that bums me out (long-term) about seeing a cel go to another collector is if we never see it again...that's a true loss!

[teppy]

Yes. Many missed opportunities indeed. Balance is good and perspective is everything. Must tr to remember that

[star-phoenix]

I generally don't public ally ask anyone on who won an auction. The auction houses keep the winners private for a reason. If that owner wants to post it publicly, they would do it at their own choice. I think it is not "wrong" for people to publicly ask who won a piece that they lost out on. But, they definitely should not expect the owner to have to respond. If the owner is considering on buying it, they can contact that person directly.

When i lost out on an auction, I asked some reps to search for the piece. They located the owner (private) and asked them if they were interested in selling. Eventually, the owner said okay. But, I have had instances where they opted to keep it. But, they know the option is out there if they decide to sell.

[teppy]

I generally don't public ally ask anyone on who won an auction. The auction houses keep the winners private for a reason. If that owner wants to post it publicly, they would do it at their own choice. I think it is not "wrong" for people to publicly ask who won a piece that they lost out on. But, they definitely should not expect the owner to have to respond. If the owner is considering on buying it, they can contact that person directly.

When i lost out on an auction, I asked some reps to search for the piece. They located the owner (private) and asked them if they were interested in selling. Eventually, the owner said okay. But, I have had instances where they opted to keep it. But, they know the option is out there if they decide to sell.

Are you referring to brick-and-mortar auction houses? E.g. on Ebay there's not a way to find out now who won an auction. P.S. Love your Snow White cel. Very charming.

[Krafty]

Yeah, having been on both sides of this dilemma too, I have an opinion. I have tracked down some people who have outbid me on auctions and in the politest way, emailed them about the item. Sometimes I just congratulate them, other times I'll throw in a cheeky comment along the lines of "if you ever plan to sell in the future, keep me in mind..." Always done this privately because it's a personal conversation; doing it publically on a forum is bad form- unless it is a general enquiry for help to find out the owner of the piece.

I used to get a collector email me every couple of months asking if I have anything to sell. That's not offensive/annoying to me in itself, but became a nuisance after it went on for nearly 3 years! We all need to be mindful of when to back off before it becomes an issue for everyone concerned.

[JWR]

I can say that that I have ever actively tracked down the owner of a cel/sketch I lost out on. I have from time to time came across others we liked that I sent messages that if they ever decided to sell down road to let me know. I have yet to have anyone get back to me saying they decided to sell. I have picked some nice pieces from offer periods or people finding themselves in need of cash and so far during those have I gotten a piece that years ago I was outbid on during a YJ auction.

I receive at least a couple of inquiries a month if I would be willing sell an item which I will respond that at this time I do not plan to sell but if that ever changes I will contact them. I have put a note in the private area on that image with the contact info of that person. The only exception is for about 15 years I would get offers for a comic piece from a dealer once every couple of months who would not take no for an answer. Never happen but one would be tempted to say one would rather burn the piece then ever let them have it after the constant bugging.

[Krafty]

...for about 15 years I would get offers for a comic piece from a dealer once every couple of months who would not take no for an answer. Never happen but one would be tempted to say one would rather burn the piece then ever let them have it after the constant bugging.

LOL, I can see how you'd reach that point.